Nvidia suspends AI cloud funding plan amid antitrust concerns

NVIDIA has paused its new financing initiative for AI cloud service providers, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The program, intended to provide credit support in exchange for a share of cloud revenue, was set to launch in July but was halted less than two months prior. Employees raised concerns that the plan could trigger antitrust scrutiny, citing NVIDIA’s extensive involvement in customer operations. The company also required some clients to rent only NVIDIA-equipped computing power to approved parties, favoring small startups over large clients, which intensified monopoly allegations. A NVIDIA spokesperson stated the July-launched model aims to aid the AI ecosystem in accessing computing power and remains operational, with ongoing optimizations. However, the company had originally planned to offer buyback guarantees for customers unable to rent computing power, allowing it to profit from hardware sales and cloud revenue. This dual role as both supplier and shareholder is the core of regulatory concerns. NVIDIA may revise the plan and integrate it into other business areas, seeking a balance between growth and compliance.